


Countdown to your love

by Mimisempai



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mimisempai/pseuds/Mimisempai
Summary: A watch that tells you the number of steps to your soul mate?That's all well and good, but if you don't have a direction or if your soul mate decides to not believe in it...it's not much use...and yet.....Prompt : A counter tells you how many steps away you are from your soulmate
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57
Collections: Barisi Soulmate Bingo





	Countdown to your love

**February 29, 1992 - Staten Island**

_ 519500 steps. _

Sonny looked for the hundredth time at the special watch he had received for his 12th birthday.

As he could only celebrate his birthday every 4 years, because he was born on a leap year, his parents always gave him special presents. 

And Sonny decided that this one was the most beautiful of all.

He still couldn't believe what his father told him once he unwrapped it.

This watch showed the number of steps that separated him from his soulmate.

There was even a little mileage converter.

235 miles

It was near and far at the same time.

Somewhere within a 235-mile radius there was someone whose soul was connected to his.

For Sonny who was having trouble making friends, it was like having an invisible friend.

From that day on, there was nothing more precious to Sonny than this watch.

  
  


**February 29, 1992 - Harvard Law school**

_ 606000, 606001, 606002, 606003, 606004, 606003, 606006 steps _

Today, Rafael was having trouble concentrating on his law class.

For the first time since he received it, his watch had activated.

And the number kept moving, sometimes so fast it made him dizzy.

Apparently, his soulmate was getting pretty restless.

Rafael had been waiting 12 years for his watch to go off because when it activated, it meant that his soulmate had received his watch too. That they were aware that Rafael was out there somewhere.

For Rafael who had been alone since he left home for Harvard, it was a great feeling.

Even though the distance, 235 miles, was pretty huge.

  
  


**September 24, 1996 - Staten Island Technical High School**

_ 39083 steps - 17 miles _

Wow! Yesterday morning his soulmate was over 500,000 steps away and this morning they were only over 20,000. Sonny was super happy, his soulmate was only 17 miles away!

He wondered what happened in his soulmate's life that the distance had decreased so quickly.

He hoped it was nothing serious.

17 miles was so little and so much at once.

If only the watch could give him a direction as well.

  
  
  


**September 24, 1996 - ADA Office - Brooklyn**

_ 45597 steps - 17 miles _

Rafael had finished his law courses at Harvard, passed the bar exam and arrived yesterday in his new apartment. He was starting today at the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office.

His watch hasn't left his wrist. 

Awareness of this presence, even though it was so far away, had helped him many times during his studies. Whenever he felt like giving up, all he had to do was look at the watch on his wrist to get him motivated to fight again.

And today he was only a few miles away.

If only he had a clue, he could look in one direction.

  
  
  
  


**September 23, 2014 - Staten Island Special Victims Unit**

_ 20600 steps - 9 miles _

The number on his watch had gone down again.

But this last few months, Sonny knew that the fluctuating number of steps was because of him. One week at the Queens precinct, two months in Brooklyn, then back to Staten Island where he had only stayed two months. Finally tomorrow he was starting at the Manhattan Special Victim Unit, hoping that this time it would be the right one.

Sometimes he wondered what the point was of having such a watch though. What was the point of it, if there was no way to know where his soulmate was exactly.

But he kept hoping, because that's the way Sonny was. 

He couldn't believe that he was connected to someone in that way and that he would never meet them.

  
  


**September 23, 2014 - 1 Place Hogan**

It had been a long time since Rafael wore his watch.

He put it away years ago.

Looking at a moving number didn't comfort him anymore.

He had resigned himself to it and stopped believing in fairy tales.

He was meant to live alone, and numbers moving on a dial would not change that.

For two years now he had been working as ADA with Manhattan SVU. 

He was happy with his job, he had a nice apartment and he had enough money to support himself.

It was enough, or at least that's what he tried to convince himself every night when he went to sleep.

  
  
  


**23 September 2014 - Manhattan - Special Victims Unit**

_ 10700 steps - 5 miles _

Sonny was super excited, he had started today at the 16th precinct and this morning as he had approached the place, the number of steps had decreased.

He was getting closer to his soul mate.

His new boss seemed nice, even if a little reluctant, but after all Sonny knew that sometimes he was a little too much when you didn't know him.

Amanda and Fin seemed pretty cool, so it was looking good.

At that very moment, they were meeting to discuss evidence and were waiting for the ADA, a guy named Rafael Barba, to see how to move forward with the investigation.

Meanwhile, Sonny looked at his watch.

_ 286, 285, 284 steps _

Huh? The number was just getting down and fast.

He continued to stare at it, unaware of his surroundings…

_ 10, 9, 8, 7 _

"Barba, I'd like you to meet Detective Carisi, the newest addition to the squad."

_ 0. _

He looked up and found himself face to face with a brown-haired man, dressed in superbly elegant clothes, holding out his hand.

"Good morning detective Carisi"

"Ah...um...good morning Counselor, you can call me Sonny."

"I won't though."

Then the ADA turned to the lieutenant, completely ignoring Sonny.

Sonny took a few steps back and then a few steps forward wanting to check what his watch was telling him. The number confirmed what he was thinking. Rafael Barba was his soul mate.

Sonny, who had waited since he was 12 years old to meet his soulmate, didn't know how to react.

He had to find a way to talk to him alone.

"All right, Olivia, I'll get the warrants, have someone in my office in half an hour, they'll be ready."

"Well, the new guy's perfect for this task! Ok Carisi?"

"Yes, Lieutenant!"

Sonny was gloating on the inside. That was perfect!

Sonny tried to mentally prepare himself in the next half hour and on the way to the Barba's office. 

How to broach the subject? What to say?

He still didn't know how to handle it when he opened the office's door.

"Um, hi, counselor, I'm here to pick up the warrants."

"Ah, Carisi, here you go," the ADA handed him the papers. He had rolled up his sleeves over his elbows. Sonny realized he wasn't wearing a watch.

He froze.

"Yes? You need anything?"

"Um, no no, I'm just wondering why you're not wearing a watch. You know, I had the image of the typical lawyer, fancy suit, ostentatious watch, all of that." Sonny muttered "Forget I said anything"

"Not that it's any of your business, Detective, but since I have the time on my cell phone, I don't see the point of wearing a watch. Have a nice day."

"Thank you, counselor. Goodbye."

Sonny left the office.

Apparently his soul mate wasn't wearing his watch.

Did that mean he didn't want to meet Sonny? That he wasn't interested in who his soul mate was? Was Sonny the only one who had been aware of this connection all his life?

Sonny felt a great sadness overwhelming him and returned to the precinct.

For a while he struggled to recover from the disappointment, but Sonny was a fighter.

If his soulmate didn't want to recognize him then Sonny would have to help him realize who they were to each other.

So Sonny decided to approach the prosecutor using the fact that he was studying law at night school. He first offered his advice, which was not well received if Sonny believed the answers he got in his face every time.

Then he humbly asked him to follow him on one case or another, promising not to interfere. Although reluctantly, Barba accepted. Not only did Sonny learn a lot from him, but it seemed to him that they had grown closer.

The prosecutor now seemed to listen to him when he gave his opinion, and especially recently he had even started to agree with him and approved his comments.

Right now they were both in the process of closing a file in the prosecutor's office. 

"Come on Carisi, I'll buy you a drink at Forlini's, we both deserve it."

Moments later, they were talking over drinks at the bar and Sonny felt like he was having the best night of his life.

"So, Carisi, what brought you to Manhattan SVU?"

"Force of circumstance," Sonny humbly confessed. "Let's just say after three tries in three different precincts, it was my last chance."

"What was the problem? Because I can't think of anything wrong with you, except for the moustache from the first days. You look good now"

Sonny blushes a little at the thinly disguised compliment.

"Um, let's just say homicide wasn't for me. And apparently the fact that I went to law school wasn't a good look for me either."

"What?!"

"Well, from the moment my 'colleagues' found out, I was considered a traitor. Because I was on the side of the lawyers. Not wanting to work in a tense atmosphere -our job is hard enough as it is- I preferred to leave."

Rafael looked horrified.

"I'm sorry, Carisi, and I hope I didn't offend you with my little puns, because I have a lot of respect for the fact that you're taking classes and working at the same time. But I'm curious to know why? Do you want to be a lawyer or even a prosecutor?"

"Actually, no, it's just for self-interest, to use the law or to circumvent it. To see my work from another perspective and because I'm also passionate about it."

"Those are all good reasons, that's all. I don't think you have anything to worry about this unit Carisi, I've been working with them for two years and Liv's a good person."

"I could see that already, yeah."

They were silent for a moment, exchanging long glances.

_ If only I had the courage to tell him _ , Sonny thought.

Then they resumed the conversation on less personal matters. It was 1am when they parted in front of the bar.

And as Sonny walked away from Barba, he saw the number of steps increase.

  
  


_______

  
  


A few days later, Sonny was furious.

He'd just had a run-in with Barba.

He had proposed a strategy to the ADA, and Barba had completely put it aside and taken it apart point by point. Barba was angry too, he told Sonny to do his job as a cop and let him do his job as a lawyer.

Sonny had stormed out of the Lieutenant's office, slamming the door.

He sat at his desk, smoking. His eyes fell on the watch. In a rage he untied it from his arm and threw it on his desk.

Then he pushed his chair back violently and went into the break room to calm down.

Fin and Amanda looked at each other with a shrug.

Amanda's eyes fell on Sonny's watch.

"Huh?"

"What?" asked Fin.

"It's a weird watch. It's like a countdown clock."

"Don't bother, you know Carisi's a real geek. It must be another one of his gadgets."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Rafael came out of Olivia’s office when he heard Rollins and Tutuola talking.

He continued on his way past them. A little embarrassed when he saw Carisi's desk empty.

"Oh, the countdown's over. Oh, no, it's going the other way now."

Rafael stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh well, it's stopped now."

"Forget it," said Tutuola's shuffling voice.

"Yeah, yeah," Rollins said, going back to her files.

Rafael took advantage of the fact that they were busy with their work to approach Carisi's desk again, he had a strange feeling. Looking at the watch in question, when he saw the numbers going backwards, he knew. 

For the first time in his life Rafael began to run.

When he arrived outside he called a taxi, gave him his address and told him to hurry as fast as he could.

And on the way everything fell into place.

The first day, the young detective's embarrassment, his strange question about not having a watch and the strange connection he felt between them. The way they had been getting closer lately.

But why had Sonny, who did not hesitate to fight when he felt it was right, not said anything?

Rafael rushed up the three floors to his apartment. When he got home he ran into the storage room where some old boxes were stored.

Which one was it? Which one was it?

He searched in several boxes before finding what he was looking for. The watch!

Without taking the time to look at the number written on it, he left in a hurry, took the taxi he had told to wait in and before leaving called Olivia.

"Rafael?"

"Liv, where's Carisi now?"

"Carisi? I sent him to your office to apologize, his reaction before was unacceptable."

"Don't be too hard on him Liv, he wasn't completely wrong and I wasn't too soft either."

"It's not like you to be indulgent."

"Don't tell anyone. I have to go. Bye."

He hung up without waiting for an answer

Then he said to the driver, "1 Hogan Place, as fast as you can."

If all went well, he'd be there a little bit before the detective.

Arriving in his office, he settled in, took the watch in his hands and waited.

200, 199, 198, 197….

A few minutes later.

...10

He could see the young man's silhouette through the glass door.

...5

The door opened, he watched the young man approach and said:

"Zero."

Sonny stopped straight away. Looked at his watch, then at the watch in the hands of Rafael and finally looked up at him.

"How? But...When?"

"Forgive me, Sonny, for taking so long to figure it out, for giving up on you before knowing you. I hope you will give me a chance to restore what could have been between us a long time ago, please?"

Sonny's slow smile on his lips gave him the answer he wanted.

The young man took the watch from Rafael's hands, and fastening it around Rafael's wrist he said: "I've been waiting for this since I was 12 years old and I never stopped hoping."

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> As always thank you to SarahCakes613 for beta reading
> 
> Let me know what you think, what moved you or not, what made you laugh or not, what made you cry or not. Whether it's here or on twitter. I always answer.


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